“There is always music everywhere,” Jonathan Tah tells Apple Music. “Music gives me a huge boost before matches. It also helps me to block out everything around me and focus 100 per cent on the match.” From the breakfast table to the stadium, the footballer’s go-to tracks are big on Afrobeats, rap, dancehall and R&B, with a touch of reggaetón. Given his family roots in Côte d’Ivoire, Tan holds a special place for African music that digs deeper and creates an emotional link. Whether it’s the impactful lyrics or the thumping beats, the German international centre-back explains why these four cuts in his warm-up mix stand out. Burna Boy, “Want It All (feat. Polo G)” “The lyrics and the message of this song are extremely inspiring to me. The first line—‘Remember when they said they don't believe in me no more?’—also applies to a situation in my life. I do my thing, no matter what, and I think the sound is great. There’s a certain vibe to it and rap too. I celebrate that enormously.” Adekunle Gold & ODUMODUBLVCK, “Wrong Person” “The song really pushed me in a phase where I had the feeling that people were trying to downplay me from outside. Like Burna Boy, the song manages to have both a nice vibe and a nice message behind it. You could just listen to [songs like this] without paying attention to the lyrics and they would be just as strong! But with the lyrics, it’s even more inspiring!” Francis Mercier & Magic System, “Premier Gaou” “This is the African song par excellence! The song puts me in a good mood and reminds me of my roots, as the band also comes from the Ivory Coast, like my father. The track also has a deeper meaning: For me, it connects many people from different regions of the world because I’ve never met anyone who doesn’t celebrate the song. That reflects my values accordingly.” Stormzy, “Scary” “I really like Stormzy as a performer and the way he gets things across. The sound of the song is very deep and dark—that pushes me somehow. The song gets me into a special mode!”